Where No One has Gone Before
by Johalex
Summary: She didn't know when it happened, when she started considering James Potter a friend, but she knew it none the less. She knew then that her seventh year at Hogwarts was not going to be the same as her past six. Rated for language and adult topics.
1. Chapter 1

**I own only the plot. NOTHING ELSE.**

Chapter 1

She didn't know when it happened, when she started considering James Potter a friend. She didn't know when, or why, but she knew it none the less. Her instinctive reaction was so get all defensive and push this realization to the farthest corner of her brain and leave it there for good, but after thinking about it, it made her feel happy, almost satisfied. She didn't know whether she should tell her friends or James, but decided on just letting it be. She didn't want to make a big deal about it because she knew word would spread through the halls of the school faster then fiendfyre and gossip would make it a bigger deal than it was. She also wouldn't know how her friends would take the news. They had been on the receiving ends of her rants about his arrogant attitude, his stupid ego and every single other aspect she used to detest about him for far too long to just hear her say that she doesn't mind being around him anymore to simply just believe her. But she had been acting rather civil around him lately and maybe if she continued her friends wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary if they didn't fight anymore. She didn't even want to think about telling James. He was much more mature now but she wouldn't put it past him to gloat about his being right. Yes, she thought. She would just let it be.

She was laying in their personal head quarters that she shared with James Potter. She had been thinking about how worried she was that he left in the night with no explanation and hadn't returned yet. That's when the realization hit her. She was actually concerned of the whereabouts and safety of James Potter. The name felt so different to her now, she couldn't stop repeating it over and over in her head; James Potter, James, James Potter. Whenever she thought about the name in the past it was with anger or disgust. Never anything else. She knew at that moment that her seventh year at Hogwarts was not going to be the same as her past six.

She climbed out of her bed and walked down the stairs into the common room. It was dark and crowded. James and her had many close friends, so at the beginning of the month when they had moved in they soon realized that the two overstuffed chairs angling towards the fire would not suffice for holding their company, so they transfigured a couple couches (which left the room rather cramped). Lily's friends usually came over to study or sometimes for even just for girl talk, and James' "Marauders" liked to come over to scheme or talk about their many secrets ( which Lily highly disapproved).

She grabbed her schoolbag where she had thrown it on the desk after her class and made her way over to the couch closest to the fireplace. She didn't even notice that it wasn't lit because she was too busy thinking about where James could be. She realized that there was nothing she could do about now and simply sitting there fretting would help no one so she finished next weeks homework until she fell asleep.

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus slowly made their way out of the secret passage that led to the whomping willow and started their slow trek to the Gryffindor common room. He and Sirius were carrying a half unconscious Remus and Peter was limping behind them. After what seemed like way too many staircases than normal they made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady, James nodded to Sirius and Peter and left them to make his way to the Head rooms.

"Chivalry" he mumbled hurriedly to the portrait of the historic Godric Gryffindor and stumbled his way into the common room. He found Lily laying on the couch with one leg over the side and the other draped over the arm and her transfiguration textbook lying open on the stomach. It never seized to amaze him how perfect she was. Even as he watched her awkwardly sleeping on the couch he thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. With her deep red hair that naturally waved down to her mid back; her flawless, pearly white skin; her tiny waist and long legs; and last but not least her big emerald eyes that showed so much emotion he swore he could see into her soul.

Trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake his sleeping beauty he crept though the room trying to make it to the other side so he could ascend the stairs that led to his room... to his bed. He weaved through the maze that the various furniture made and finally made it safely to the stairs. Once he got there, he looked back at Lily and silently lifted his wand to light the fire so she wouldn't be cold throughout the night. He wished he could bring her to his bedroom so she could join him in his bed. But he was making progress, it was slow, he had to admit, but it was progress non the less. She might actually consider him a friend now. But he was patient, and he would do whatever it took, no matter how long it look.

He continued climbing the stairs with great difficulty (due to his recent injuries from the night's activities), made his way to his room, locked the door and collapsed on his bed. He did not expect to move for at least another 15 hours.

She jerked awake at the sound of a locking door. Had the fire always been lit? she thought. Was someone in here now? She jumped off the couch and scanned the dimly lit room with her wand at the ready, it didn't look like anyone was there. She slowly crept around the desk and tip toed up the narrow staircase, she was read for anything. Once at the top she did another scan, she pushed the door open to her room, no one was there. She was starting to feel uneasy now.

Something grunted from outside her room. Lily practically flew out the door to inspect the scene; it was the exact same as she left it. She froze, there was a low rumbling coming from James' room. She had been in situations like these before on her nightly patrols as head girl, but she new the worst she could find was snogging sixth years or rambunctious second years. And also James had always been with her.

James. She needed to get into the room. Maybe this thing had taken James! What if he was hurt or worse...

"Oh snap out of it Evans" she scolded herself. Thinking about things like that would get her no where. She stood there for a moment thinking about what she should do. She could run away and get someone else to deal with it; or she could handle it herself like the true Gryffindor she was. She was Lily Evans for Christ sake, head girl, brightest witch in school, not to mention an aspiring auror! If she truly wished to be an auror she sure as hell wouldn't have people coming to save her every time she got a little scared.

"Alohamora" she whispered and the door clicked open. She lightly pushed it open and peered around to get a look at the room. There was a body laying on the bed, blood and slashes covered it's cloak. She slowly walked across the room to look at the body closely, she was a smart witch, this could be a trap! But as soon as she saw the blood covered face against the pillow she gasped and dropped to her knees.

A deep cut ran from the inside of his eye to the middle of his cheek, there was dried blood around his nose and it looked like a dark bruise was forming by his hairline. She raised a hand and gently stroked his cheek trying not to wake the sleeping head boy. A deep rumble was coming from his throat and he was breathing slowly and heavily. She grabbed her wand where she had dropped it on the floor and started performing the simple heeling spells required to mend his wounds and heal his bruises. She gently peeled off his cloak, unbuttoned his destroyed shirt and continued the spells until he looked as good as new. She then repeated the same thing with his pants, blushing at the thought of what she was doing but continued none the less because she was mature and this needed to be done.

It surprised her how calm she was being, but she was slightly proud of the fact that she had stayed rational and level headed in a stressful situation. That was necessary for her future job.

She was overjoyed by the fact that he was back safely... well as safe as he can be now that he was in her care. She wanted to throw her arms around the sleeping figure on the bed but she didn't want to wake him. Yet. He needed rest and she would let him sleep for the time being. She had been so worried about him, how did this happen? Then suddenly panic erupted from the pit of her stomach. Who could have done this to him? Where had he been? Why didn't he tell her where he was going?

She stood up and walked to the door then stopped, she sighed and turned around. She couldn't possibly get to sleep now knowing he was injured in the next room. What if he woke in the night and needed something? She had healed his wounds that were visible but by the looks of it he probably had more injuries than the eye could see. She made her way to the other side of his bed and carefully as to not wake him, climbed in. She softly took off his glasses and placed them on the side table, ran her fingers through his impossibly soft hair, and drifted off to sleep.

She woke up to a calm Saturday morning feeling brilliant after a great night's sleep. She attempted to stretch out all her morning cramps when she found that there was a heavy arm around her stomach. She slapped her hands to her face as all of the last night's events came flooding back. Slowly she peeked through her fingers to see a very asleep James who was lying on his stomach and was dangerously close to her. Then in a flash, all of her morning tranquility was gone. A new dose of anger hit her square in the face. Where the bloody hell had he been? And what the fuck happened to him? She threw off his arm and jumped out of bed and hastily walked over to the side with the sleeping moron.

"James!" she yelled as she shook his bare shoulder. He didn't move. "James!" she yelled louder this time and directly in his ear. Nothing. She reached over him and grabbed her wand from under the pillow where she always kept it as she slept. She thought about what she could do to make him wake up. A lot of things came to mind that she had done to her friends during the previous years when they had shared a dorm, but she knew he could possibly be seriously injured and didn't want to risk making it worse than it already was.

"_Froidurius_" she thought as she silently cast him a chilling hex that sent a wave of freezing cold threw his body. He didn't move a bloody finger.

"This boy can sleep through anything!" she murmured under her breath.

She really did not want to resort to this but she guessed she had no choice. She climbed on top of him and straddled his back. Before he woke up, she thought she might sneak another feel of his hair. It was she softest hair she had ever felt, she could sit and run her fingers through it all day long. After that moment of weakness she snapped back to reality. She placed her hands on his back and started gently massaging his tense muscles. Trying to ignore the thoughts about his perfectly toned physique and forcing herself to complete the task at hand, she leaned down and laid her chest over his back and positioned her mouth right above his ear.

"James" she whispered. He flinched a tiny bit. She continued massaging away the knots in his muscular back.

"James darling you have to wake up." His eyes started to flutter open, but looked like they would fall right back to sleep in moments. She had to act quickly.

"I'm terribly lonely in this big bed all by myself" she purred seductively in his ear. His eyes focused and widened to there maximum width.

"... Lily" he said slowly as if he was confused as to why she was saying this. Then Lily realized that was probably exactly what he was feeling at the moment. "what are you doing in my room, on my bed... on me?"

"Maybe it's because you're a fucking asshole!" she yelled then jumped off his bed to start hitting him on the back as hard as she could without doing any damage.

Well...she thought, at least no permanent damage.

_He was lying on his bed at the Potter manor, enjoying the calmness that his family home provided. He was content to stay laying there forever, everything about it was completely perfect. He rolled over to go back to sleep when he saw a figure laying beside him. Curious as to whom was in his bed, he reached over to see who was intruding in his sanctuary, but he couldn't reach. But it's so close, he thought. He reached further and further but the figure seemed to keep getting further away. He felt empty without it, like the figure had taken his soul with it, like he'd never be happy again unless it came back to him and stayed forever. He needed it to come back, it wasn't the same without it here, he needed it there with him for everything to go back to normal, back to his home, his sanctuary. _

_Everything started changing, it wasn't his room back at the family manor anymore, it was a forest. Probably the forbidden forest, he thought. It was incredibly cold out. He wanted to get back to Hogwarts, his home away from home, but he couldn't move. It was like the cold air had frozen him to the hard earth. Then the wind came and it felt like it was pushing him back to the castle, like it was helping him return home. He felt it blow through his hair and around his body. It felt amazing, like a relief he hadn't known he'd been looking for. _

He was laying face down on his pillow, his glasses were off, and something was on top of him, pinning him down. Not that he wanted to move, angel like fingers were working wonders to his bruised and overworked muscles. He'd take this over freezing his ass off in a lonely forest any day.

"James" He wondered who possibly could be saying his name. None of his friends knew the pass word to get in and he would have never given it to one of the sleazy girls he sometimes saw. It had to be his mother, he thought. No one else would ever say his name with that much concern dripping from their voice.

"James darling you have to wake up." Yes, definitely his mother. And it just so happened that he had gotten into the habit of not listening to his beloved mother over years so he was going to do as he had so very often practiced and ignore her. There was only one thing that would wake him up before he wished and that was important classes and...

"I'm terribly lonely in this big bed all by myself" Okay now, definitely not his mother. His mother had never seductively whispered to him and he prayed to god that she never would. Who was this wonder woman on his back with the hands of a goddess? He needed her waking him up in his bed every morning. Seriously though, he thought, who was on his back?

"... Lily" he said the name cautiously because he didn't know how the mystery girl would react. If it wasn't Lily, she would be offended that he didn't think of her name, but if it was Lily, well... she'd probably be insulted that he thought of her first and get all flustered and angry. God, he loved angry Lily Evans. Was it possible that she was in his bed right at the very moment? He had too many questions to ask so he settled on one that was on the tip of his tongue anyways. "what are you doing in my room, on my bed... on me?"

"Maybe it's because you're a fucking asshole!" She screamed in his ear then was on her feet lightning fast and he was being beaten before he even could comprehend what had happened. But he knew one thing for sure, he could tell who the source of that scream and the punches were because he had been on the receiving end of both of them many times before. The one and only Lily Evans.

"Lil...OW fuck...Lily stop! Stop!" The punches were still coming but they had lost the power behind them.

Then he heard soft sobs. That, he was not expecting. Why was Lily crying? Usually when she punched him it was out of anger, disgust or frustration. Never sadness. He didn't know how to react, he was so used as to what to do when Lily attacked him with all her regular emotions. Anger (the most common); tease her further until she gets so mad her face matches her long red locks and her eyes sparkle with rage. Pride; remind her that he could also be put on her long list of things to be proud of if she just said yes to one of his date offers. Lily was the source to many other emotions, she was an emotional girl. It's not as if she is the type of emotional teenage girl who cries when a boy doesn't give her the attention she thinks she deserves, or when she heard a bad rumor about herself. No, Lily was very emotionally stable, until it came to him. He was the only one who could get under her skin. It was also one of the things he was most proud of.

But there he was, lying face down on his bed, not knowing what to do as the love of his life cried beside him. He was just going to have to deal with this blindly.

"Lily, why are you crying?" he thought he could maybe get her to explain something to him then he could decide how he should act.

"Why am I crying? Why am I crying James? Maybe because the first time I woke up, you were gone. The second time I woke up, I hear noises from your room and when I come in I see you nearly torn to pieces and almost bleeding to death. Then finally this morning when I woke up..." her voice broke and she trailed off without finishing her sentence. What had happened this morning? he thought. Had he been talking in my sleep? Did she hear him call out to the figure who had stolen his soul? Had he been crying? He decided he didn't want to know the answer to those questions.

He rolled over in his bed so that he was facing her despite his protesting body. She was looking at him way too intensely for his liking.

Damnit, he thought, what did he do to bugger things up this time? He felt like he had been making some progress with her. They hadn't fought in a while and they could actually get through normal conversations without it ending with him in the hospital wing or being left filled with regret. This was progress he'd like to continue but by the looks of her eyes piercing into his brain he didn't think he'd get out of this one unscathed. He slid out of his bed sheets and flung his legs over the side of the bed. That was when he noticed he wore only his white t-shirt that he wore under his robes, and his boxers.

"What happened to my clothes?" He knew it wasn't the most ideal thing to say. Maybe a simple "thanks for saving my life, without you I probably wouldn't have made it through the night" would have been nicer than idiotic thing that had come out of his mouth.

He didn't notice her blush either.

"There was blood all over them and I noticed you had gashes everywhere so I decided to heal them for you. You know, so you didn't stain the sheets." she mumbled then tried to discreetly wipe tears form her eyes.

"Oh well, thank you." Good job James, for once in your life you managed not to speak out of you ass. "How bad was I? I remember barely making it then just collapsing as soon as I hit the bed."

"Well, you were sleeping when I found you but I was impressed that you had even made it this far. Wait, I'm mad at you! Don't you dare try to change the subject on me James Potter you will give me answers right now and I do not care under what means I get them." As she said this she raised her wand so it was pointing at his nose. He took this as a sign to speak.

"I went out with the boys, once every month we get out of the castle just the four of us. I usually don't get hurt this bad, but last night just happened to be a rough one I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly as if it was no big deal.

His answer obviously did not satisfy her though.

"What do you mean it's usually not this bad? You mean to tell me this happens every month? Why on earth do you keep returning to this place month after month when you almost die every time? I swear I will never understand you and your precious Marauders and why you do the things you do. You're all completely mental if you ask me!"

"Well we don't exactly have a choice in the matter Lily. I means, yes, me and the lads do like to break the rules and take risks but do you really think were stupid enough to continually sneak out of the school to return to a place thats obviously dangerous and harmful if we didn't have to?" he ansked with a disbelieving huff. Really, he thought, she could have a little more faith in him.

"Well then be a doll and tell me why it is so important to go back time and time again if you have to continually risk your lives?"

He sighed, he wished so much that he could just tell her. He hated not being able to do exactly what she asked of him, but it wasn't up to him to tell her. Maybe he could ask Remus to tell her himself, then this secrecy could all go away. "I'm sorry Lily but I can't tell you that. You don't know how much I wish I could, but there's nothing I can do about it." He looked away sadly. It's not that he blamed Remus, it wasn't that at all. He has supported him through everything and regretted none of it, it was what officially bonded all of them together when they were younger. They wouldn't be the Marauders without it. But all of their lives would be much simpler if they didn't have to deal with the constant secrecy.

"There's nothing you can do about it? Thats a load of crap and you know it! Don't expect me to just let this go easily either James, either you will tell me or I will figure it out myself!" Then she walked away with fierce strides and a loud frustrated sigh. She walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

She was angry now, that he knew for certain. Well this Lily, he thought, he could deal with.

**Thanks for reading! This is my first fic and it will probably will be long but I promise to finish it even if takes me forever!**

**PLEASE REVIEW I'M NEW TO THIS AND I PROBABLY WONT POST AGAIN IF I GET NO RESPONSE. but please don't make me do that because i really want to post the whole thing up here!**

**thanks everyone! **

**xoxo**

**Lyla**


	2. Chapter 2

**I own only the plot. NOTHING ELSE.**

Lily was sitting at her table at the back corner of the library. She called it her table because she was there so frequently that people barely had the chance to work at that table except for her. So now it was simple, it was her table. She had just come from the great hall where she had briefly spoken to her friends and grabbed a piece of toast to munch on as she was on her way. She thought she heard her friend Alexis mention something about it not being healthy to study this early on a saturday morning but she hardly listened. And frankly she didn't care.

Once something was on her mind it was nearly impossible to make it go away without dissecting it fully. She needed to find out what James was hiding from her, and the library was the first place she could start.

She was searching frantically for any clues as to what kind of scratches James had on his face and body. They had been large, almost as if someone had taken the back of a hammer and carved through his skin. Not many animals could have made that large of damage without killing him. She was going down the list of magical animals and jotting down another list of the ones he could have found that were near to the school.

Hippogriff

Cerberus

Burvju Agouti

Werewolf

Liela Badger

The list was rather small and for that she was relieved. But the thought of James or any of the Marauders facing any of those highly dangerous animals sent shivers down her spine. She was well aware that they were quite magically skilled but the thought was unnerving none the less.

Hagrid had a pregnant hippogriff on the grounds and they could get very vicious and were offended easily, but all four of them had been in care of magical creatures with her in the forth year and she doubted they were moronic enough enrage the hormonal beast.

She doubted they could have run into a Cerberus. And if they had, it would be a miracle they had made it out alive. They were massive, extremely angry dogs that more often than not had multiple heads. The Burvju Agouti could be found in the Forest at times and they had large claws that could definitely do some serious harm.

Werewolf was an option, there were quite a lot of them around. She knew for a fact that Voldemort had newly recruited one into his rank. She doubted they had a run in with the Liela badger as they needed large bodies of water to survive and she had never seen one around the lake or out in the grounds.

She flipped over the page and skimmed through some more animals but found nothing else that seemed realistic. She stood up from her seat and made her way through the aisles of books on the dusty shelves. While, sliding her book back into place a shiny red ribbon caught her eye. She shifted her focus and grabbed the book, it was called " Transfigure into the unknown" by Authurius Magollo. She wondered why she had never seen this book on the reading list in her transfigurations class. She had obviously read all books on the list and even more but she thought it odd that she had never read this one. Someone had obviously been using it, she thought and she absentmindedly stroked the ribbon. She pulled the ribbon out and examined it, she recognized this ribbon but didn't know why. She used to wear ribbons in her hair before forth year so was it possible that this one used to be hers? But why was it in this book if she had never read it before?

She was curious, but didn't have the time to look too closely into it at the moment. So she visited Madam Pince at the front desk and was on her way back to her common room to drop off her things.

Ten minutes later she found herself sitting in her old dorm room with all her friends. As much as she loved the privacy of her new dorms, she couldn't help but miss having the constant buzz of conversation and having her best friends around.

She was sitting on her old bed which now seemed to be used as a closet and just sat silently, listening to the sound of the pointless banter that you could always find among teenage girls.

"Marlene from Hufflepuff, yes she's the sixth year, well she constantly talks about her new boyfriend Russel and how brilliantly charming he is. Makes me want to throw her in a hole. Oh and her and her god awful sister Jenelle! Together I swear they could destroy the world with their stupidity. They obviously were sorted into Hufflepuff because they weren't smart, cunning or brave enough to be anywhere else. They were just slotted into the only house that could handle them. Poor Helga must feel utterly offended that she created a house for dimwitted skanks."

Lily had 3 best friends, Alexis Johnson, Isabelle Hunter and Mayella Grecco.

Alexis, was a character like nobody else. She was smart (not as smart as Lily but still smart), she mostly got "E"s and some "O"s. Everyone loved her and she wouldn't hurt a fly no matter how much she joked about the people she hated. She was gorgeous with wavy, blonde hair that reached her back. Dark, almost black eyes, and a smile that could light up a city. She had enough personality to share with a small village and was always energetic and happy. But the odd time Lily had seen her mad was one of the scariest things she had ever seen in her life.

Isabelle had thick, chocolate brown hair that was chopped at her shoulders. She mostly got "E"s like Alexis as well. She was very pale like Lily and had bright blue eyes. She was a bit shy at times but always the kindest person you could ever find. She was a bit short and curvy, but very pretty.

Then there was Mayella who was born and raised in Greece. She was half blood but she had never known her muggle father, so her and her mother moved to Scotland when she received her letter on her eleventh birthday. She had tanned skin and incredibly thick black hair that held tight curls down to her back. She was tall and slim and had a wicked greek accent that everyone loved. She wasn't very smart but tried hard enough at her classes.

No one really cared what marks any of them got throughout the years, all of the students loved (and envied) them.

They had all grown very close in their second year when Alexis had returned from the summer covered in bruises. She had an extremely violent father who was no stranger to physical abuse. Her mother had died when she was very young and grew up raising her little brother who now was in third year and had been sorted into Ravenclaw. Her father had been angry that his children left him all year and thought had that they were trying to escape him. After consoling Alexis when she had returned to school, they had been inseparable ever since.

Somewhere along the way Mayella had changed the topic of conversation. "Sirius came up to me this morning down in the common room all covered in scrapes and bruises and.."

"Did he say where he got them from?" Lily interrupted, without thinking. Now we're going somewhere, she thought.

"No, he changed the subject as soon as I asked where he had been and what he had been doing. Haven't any of you noticed that whenever they disappear for a night they come back all roughed up?"

" I honestly hadn't noticed until last night when James came back barely alive. He wouldn't tell me anything either, he said it wasn't up to him to say." She scoffed even at the memory.

"Yeah, Sirius didn't seem willing to let anything slip. Maybe Alexis could give it a try?" Mayella said with a sly smile on her face.

Sirius and Alexis had been together all of last year and through the summer. They had been the perfect couple, everyone had envied them. It was september first on the Hogwarts express when she had found out he had slept with some skank over the summer holidays right before he returned to school. It was a fight like no other. First years were crying and even seventh years were hiding. Lily was impressed with her friends vocabulary and large variety of hexes she had shared with Sirius and Lily had even written them down to use on James throughout the year. She hasn't needed them... yet.

"There's no way I'm speaking to him. That man whore made his choice and that's that. He will have some major ass kissing to do before we ever speak again. Until then he will just have to deal with the consequences." Alexis said while crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air. After their fight, she had dealt with the whole situation rather maturely, Lily thought. But she also thought that Alexis was holding back her actually emotions as to not feel weak. Lily could relate to that.

"Speaking of frightening girls who hate moronic boys, how are things between you and James, Lily?" said Isabelle

All girls listened very closely now. They all knew James and Lily have had their differences in the past, but that was why they were the most entertaining people to follow. The Gryffindor common room often reminisced on the times when Lily had levitated James' sleeping form to stick to the ceiling, or when James had made the whole house wear "James and Lily forever" t-shirts, or just their plain old fights. Although there was nothing plain about them, they were the whole school's entertainment.

"We're fine I guess, he's gotten easier to deal with lately. I only hope it lasts" Lily finished with a sigh.

"Remus told me he changed for you, you know. I reckon he actually cares even though I know you'd never believe me or anyone who told you that" said Alexis matter-of-factly.

She still didn't believe it. Even though she now was starting to consider him a friend, she still didn't believe that he truly cared for her romantically. She thought that he would finally get her and get bored. He deserved better than boring old muggle-born Lily Evans. But she was willing to give him a chance in friendship.

They continued on like that throughout the night and broke out the firewhiskey somewhere in between. Lily realized that being cooped in her dorms by herself left her out in all the daily drama. She still saw her fiends everyday, but in public. The real gossiped happened in the girls dorms where no unwanted listeners could hear. She found out that Lydia Edwards in Ravenclaw had a crush on Remus, Andrew Brown slapped Natalia Heath when she denied him a date at the last Hogsmead weekend, Frank Longbottom who had graduated last year married Alice Prewit (now Longbottom), and little Logan Mathers got his toad carried away by an owl who had been sent by his mother. None of this information really interesting Lily, but it was nice having the playful banter to distract her for the real word, even if it was just for one night.

"Really mate, I don't believe you." said Sirius as he collapsed onto a couch in the head dorms. "Not only was Lily in your room and on your bed, but on top of you? Hm, I always thought she'd be a 'on the bottom' kind of girl. We are talking about the same Lily right? Lily Evans?"

"Yes Sirius, I'm telling you, she was on my back and massaging me. I don't know what the hell that meant either because about 5 seconds later she was punching and yelling at me."

"Hadn't you said she had also cried? This girl seems like a lot to handle Prongs, I hope she'd worth it."

"I think I may be really making some progress though. Now, with all the head duties and patrols she has to talk to me a lot more and she may even consider me as a friend! I mean, yes, I wish she considered me as more than a friend but we're taking one step at a time. If I only continue to not act like a flaming prick then maybe she'll open up to me more. I feel like she keeps stuff hidden from me and I can't take it! I need to know everything about her. And once she starts letting me in then maybe she'll realize how I can be more than the insufferable prat that she's known all these years. Right?"

"Yeah, right. Yes, whatever." Sirius replied as he inspected his nails. "But how can you say that you want her to let you in on every little detail of her life when it was only last night when you couldn't tell her where we were. You can't except people to give you what they know you can't return, Prongs. It's just logic."

"You're right, Padfoot, and I know. You don't know how much I wish I could have told her though. You know that I never would, but still..." Then he wandered off into his head for a while. Thinking about her...(on his bed). It seemed like his life was all working out, all it had to do was continue on this path. The path that lead to Lily. Lily in the morning, afternoon, night... (on his bed). He could be with her forever and never get tired of her. She was taking over his whole entire being. She was everything. He needed her...(on his bed)

"Can you call Minky here Prongs? I skipped dinner to eat something, or rather someone else." Sirius had brought him out of his thoughts and now had a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Ya sure mate, what do you want?"

"The regular, I guess." Sirius answered with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

"Minky?" as soon as the name had left his lips there was a loud crack in the common room. His old house elf who had served him back at the Potter Manor was now standing there wearing a dirty, frilly pink dress.

"Master Potter, what can Minky help you with sir? Anything, anything at all." she said with a shy, quiet voice as she played with the hem of her dress.

"I think the usual would be all. Thank you, Minky."

She started to shake with sobs and had trouble bowing as her knees and trembling legs wobbled around.

She returned soon after with a large tray with various dinners and deserts, then with a loud crack, disappeared on last time.

"Do you reckon she'll figure it all out?" Sirius asked. He hadn't specified who he was talking about but he knew James would understand.

"It's not like she's not smart enough to put it all together. We just need to be more careful next time is all. And it's not that I don't think she would be able to handle the secret. It's just, I know she would want to help and... it's just too dangerous for her." He knew she wasn't his to worry about. Not yet at least. But the thought of anything happening to her, he couldn't even bare it.

The sound of the portrait opening caught both Sirius and James' attention. Lily was on the floor shaking. At the sight, James rushed over and Sirius shortly followed.

Was she laughing? James thought this was odd Lily Evans behavior.

"Lily? Are you alright?" he said as he crouched down beside her. She nodded her head in response as the wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Prongs, I...I think she's drunk."

**Thanks for reading! **

**It's a bit shorter this time but i just wanted to post what i had for anyone who is reading. **

**As you can see, im starting off this fic with a very light plot, i don't want it to get too intense too fast. but yes, the humor will always be there even when the times get rough. **

**PLEASE REVIEW IT LITERALLY MAKES MY DAY. Love you guys!**

**thanks everyone! **

**xoxo**

**Lyla**


	3. Chapter 3

**I own only the plot. NOTHING ELSE.**

**This is where things start to pick up speed. Hope you enjoy the third chapter!**

Bloody. Hell.

The two seventh year boys stared down at the head girl with wide eyes and open mouthes. There was just no way this was happening. Perfect Lily Evans drunk?

"Evans?" Sirius obviously had recovered sooner than James who was still staring at Lily with an awe struck expression.

"There has to be a mistake, Lily doesn't even drink! She barely even drinks butterbeer!"

"Well Prongs, it looks like your girl is all grown up" Sirius said as he watched Lily attempt to get on her feet and start to stubble away. "Hey now, Lily. Let's get you back into the common room where you can be more comfortable." He said as he jogged after her down the corridor. "Prongs, a little help?"

"Oh right, yes." James mumbled while catching up with Sirius who now was helping her off the floor where it seems she had fallen. He just couldn't comprehend it. Lily Evans didn't get drunk. She did nothing wrong. Ever. What else didn't he know about her? Had she been drunk before?

Lily was still snickering about something unknown but managed to catch her breath long enough to state: "No, I don't want to go back inside. Inside is boring, I'm there all the time! It's where I study and experiment, I want to be out here where all the action takes place." She started laughing once more then stopped suddenly and explaimed: "I want to swim in the lake!" She finished energetically as she attempted to scramble away once again toward the staircases.

"Lily I think maybe it would be best if you took it easy right now. Maybe if you're feeling up to it we can go swim in the lake tomorrow, okay?" He said gently as he reached down to offer his hand. She took it, although begrudgingly. They led her back into the warm common room and helped her into the nearest couch.

"I reckon I like her a lot more now. Always thought she was too uptight about everything, it looks like she's finally learned how to have a little fun." Sirius said while taking a step back and scrutinizing her. The laughter had mostly stopped and she was now taking in deep, ragged breaths in recovery from her hysteria.

"Sirius Black and James Potter, Marauders extraordinaire! Do you two know how much I used to hate you? Like really, I despised you. I'm actually quite impressed with myself that I haven't murdered you two over the past years. But you're not too bad now, I can actually stand to be around you, well at least James. I don't really know you too well Sirius. What are your little nicknames again? Pringle and Footmop or something?" Lily said distractedly as she studied her hand a few inches from her face.

"Okay Lily, that's great and all but we need to get you up and into bed. Come on now, up we go." James said as went to help her to her feet.

"Listen to me, Prongs" Sirius cut James off and led him away from the girl who was now humming Christmas carols. He pulled him to the other side of the room. He grabbed his shoulders with both hands and stared him in the eyes. "She's drunk James, do you understand me? She's drunk and you actually want to let her go to sleep? Tell me, when will you ever get this opportunity again. She's completely shittered and will tell you or do almost anything. Do you here me? Anything!"

"I know, I know. But I'm not going to take advantage of her. I've come so far these past couple of months and that would only lead to her completely losing her little faith in me. I can't let that happen. You more than anyone know how much I truly care about her and how much I've worked to repair the damage I made over the years. I can't risk losing it all just for a couple of drunken answers. It's not worth it." James sighed and pulled away. He looked over to where Lily was laying. She was laying on her back with her legs up in the air and she was inspecting her toes.

"Fine Prongs, she's your girl. Your decision. But as much as I would like to stay and watch you try to get her up stairs, I must be getting back." He strode by me and walked over to Lily. He grabbed her hand and bowed his head then looked back up into her shocked face. "My dearest Lily, how I wish I could stay in your gracious presence for eternity, however I must journey back to where I belong. Goodnight Madame." He finished dramatically and leaned down once more to present her with a kiss.

"Oh sod off Sirius." She pulled her hand out of his reach and wiped it on the couch, which James laughed at from the corner.

"Very well m'lady, as you wish. I'm off Prongs. Take care of this one, she's a keeper."

"I'm no ones to take care of, I am perfectly capable of taking care of my self."

"Of course you are. Goodnight." Then he made his way to the portrait.

"See you Padfoot." He said as he watched Lily stand up and walk over to the window that looked over the lake. She stumbled a couple of times but managed to make it there on her own. He walked over to the window and peered out beside her. The moon had been bright that night, the lake shone under the light of the night sky and the stars above. It looked like a painting, he thought. So perfect, it was impossibly beautiful. The sparkling reflection of the surface of the lake was magical, as if you could see right to the bottom. He swore that if you looked deep enough you could see the life beyond the surface, the secrets that lay buried deep under layers of protection, almost daring him to find them all and get lost along the way.

He thought of Lily, she was like the lake.

He turned around to empty space. She was gone. He searched the whole common room, her room, his room, their shared bathroom. Nothing. He couldn't imagine what trouble she would get into if any of the teachers found her wandering the halls in the state she was in. He ran into his room to grab his invisibility cloak then soon found himself flying through the halls of the school. She was fine, he kept telling himself. Lily drunk or not was incredibly brilliant and could get herself out of anything. He had proof of this when in their forth year he and Snape had been in a rather intense duel and Lily and intervened and hit James with a hex so hard he had been bed ridden in the hospital wing for three weeks.

He found himself on the main floor right outside of the great hall. He slowed his pace and started to think of where she would go. Was it possibly she was in the kitchen? James asked him self. He and the Marauders had thought that they were the only students to know the true location of the Hogwarts kitchen but if that had been clever enough to find it, surely Lily was as well.

He made his way, slower this time to the portrait of the large bowl of fruit. Once he tickled the pear and had barely made his way inside he heard a loud echoing noise coming from the long hall to the left. He ran to the end until he came to the large staircase that lead to the dungeons. He practically flew down the stairs taking them three at a time and once he got to the bottom he decided he would try looking down the corridor which led to the potions room. He knew he had chosen wisely because once he was half way there he heard another echoing boom. Picking up his pace he nearly sprinted the last of the corridor and rounded the corner into his least favorite classroom. There was sound coming from the supplies room. He silently crossed the room as the noises got clearer and louder. They were muffled voices now and he could definitely distinguish Lily's voice. He had his back to the wall right up beside the closed door and listened carefully.

"Well what did you expect coming down here all alone with none of your adoring teachers to defend you Evans? I say it was rather irresponsible, wouldn't you?" James recognized the voice, he assumed he was in one of his classes but he couldn't match the voice to a name. James decided that he would stay out in the class unless things got out of hand. Lily could hold her own and he would be right outside if she needed him.

"I assumed you had heard, Michaels, that I was assigned the position of head girl at the beginning of the year which allows full access to the castle at all times. I believe you are the irresponsible one who decided unwisely to take a night time stroll through the corridors alone. If you leave now, I will let you off with only taking off house points." Now James recognized the voice, Michaels had been in his Defense Against the dark Arts class at the start of the year until he dropped out and took Care of Magical Creature instead.

"And if I don't?" He asked smugly.

"I would have to shift the matters into professor Slughorn's hands and inform him that one of the students from his house foolishly thought it it appropriate to second guess the head girl." Lily replied threateningly. James had never been so happy that she could reply to anything with a quick-witted remark. She did have the practice, he thought. Somehow he hadn't been so thankful when he had been on the other end of the threats.

"Always getting other people to protect you. Though, who would defend you if you weren't in school? Ever thought of that? Admit it, if Dumbledore and nearly every teacher didn't worship the ground you walked on you would be helplessly weak and the moment you're out of the safety of your precious Gryffindor common room you'll have no one. Because think about it Evans, in times like these, who would care about a powerless mudblood?" James could barely stop himself from charging into the room and strangling the boy.

"I think it's time you made your way back to your beloved Slitherins, you can expect a word with the head master in the future as well. Now go on, before you do something you will regret." Lily finished with a vicious tone.

"What are you going to do about it Evans? You think you could stop me all by yourself? No one can help you now, it's just me and you. No one around to hear you scream or save you from how you're supposed to be treated." James could hear footsteps coming closer to the wall he was leaning on, he heard a back being pressed up against it. He knew that Lily was being cornered.

"Get your filthy hands off me, Michaels." Lily said calmly. The tone was quiet and intense now.

"No Evans, I think I'll have my way with you. You are quite delicious looking, I must admit. It's a shame you were sorted into Gryffindor, a waste really. If you belonged to Slitherin we might have been able to what we're about to do back in the common room where I could share you with the other boys. But your blood is too foul to contaminate even my floor you mudblood slut."

James moved so quickly if he had blinked he would have missed what had happened. In the matter of a second James threw off his cloak, blasted the door open and charged into the room to find Lily with her wand pointed to an unconscious, bound Slitherin on the floor. He threw a couple hexes in the boy's direction before he crossed the small room to where Lily was still pointing her wand breathing heavily and pulled her into a tight hug.

"James? How did you get here? How did you find me?" Lily asked with a voice to match the shocked expression on her face.

"Oh thank god you're okay Lily." He didn't answer her question. "Don't you dare listen to anything that moronic prat said. Do you hear me Lily? I mean it." He hugged her tighter and noticed how her body was slack against his. He pulled away and looked at her. She still wore the shocked expression she had on before. "What's the matter Lily, are you okay? I swear to Merlin if he laid so much as a finger on you I-"

Lily had cut him off with a soft finger to his lips. She looked down then sighed and walked out of the room.

She felt like a right idiot right then. She can't believe she had been so stupid! Lily had been on her way to retrieve a hangover potion for the next morning when she had a run in with a familiar Slitherin. He asked her if she could help him pick out the ideal supplies for a potion he was assigned to complete for his next class. She had already followed him into the supply closet when she realized that he wasn't in her NEWT level potions class, there was only one NEWT level class for each subject. But before she could call him out on his lie he had already trapped her inside. She hadn't let his words get to her but the truth of them had stung no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. She was most of all embarrassed that James had heard what he said. He was a pureblood, she didn't want him to think she was unworthy of his attention.

She felt a soft hand on her shoulder and she looked to see James who had caught up to her. She didn't want his pity. She could deal with this by herself, she didn't need his help.

"Lily, are you sure you're alright?" He asked as he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Yes James, I'm perfectly fine." She said shortly and picked up her pace longing to be in her own bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to pop in and see Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes James, I'm sure. It was nice of you to check up on me but I would have been perfectly fine handling this by myself." She snapped and felt his hand leave her shoulder as she started up the many staircases that lead to the head dorms on the fifth floor. She hadn't meant to snap at him but she didn't know how else to act. She just wanted to be alone and go to sleep.

He kept a distance between her as they climbed the stairs in silence. Once they were in the common room James caught up to her once more spun her around to face him.

"Look Lily, I know you could have handled it yourself as you proved downstairs but you have to understand that I care about you. A lot. And I just want to make sure that you don't let the things he said affect you because they're all a load of bull-"

"It's the truth, James. I wont let it affect me but they were true none the less. Don't think I don't know what going on outside these walls James. Muggleborns like me are being hunted hunted down and herded like animals and who knows how much worse it will get in the future. And he was right, as soon as I leave Hogwarts I'll be a walking target with no one but myself to count on. Everyone will turn on me and I'll be left with nothing. But don't think that will stop me, I'll fight until the end whether I have help or not." She sighed and took a deep breath. "That's why I drank, you know. I know it was cowardly of me but it was nice not having to deal with reality for a night. To forget what's happening outside the castle walls and forget my blood status. I couldn't help but give in to the thought of letting it all go, even if it was just temporarily." Even thought it nearly cost her a lot when she had let her drunken guard down and been lead into a trap.

She didn't want to wait for a response from James so she turned around and climbed the stairs. She was closing the door to her room when a hand stopped the motion and opened it back up again.

"You're right, that is the reality right now. There will be a war and you might be at the center but don't ever think that you will be alone. We'll fight with all the others until it's over and we've won. If you took the time to look around and see all the people who look up to you and who admire you, you would never think that you would be fighting by yourself. You're the brightest and kindest witch that I know and the people who truly care will stand by you no matter what. Goodnight Lily." And with that he turned away and disappeared into his room, leaving Lily a lot to think about for the rest of the night until she succumbed into slumber.

**Thanks for reading everyone!**

**My chapters are a bit shorter now only because i want to update regularly for you guys and you wont have to wait as long! **

**If you could review and let me what you think about the chapter lengths that would be great!**

**As you can tell things started to get more interesting in this chapter, and they will only continue to get more dramatic throughout the story!**

**Thanks again for everything!**

**xoxo**

**Lyla**


	4. Chapter 4

**I own only the plot. NOTHING ELSE.**

**Hope you enjoy the forth chapter!**

During the early morning after the encounter with Michaels, only a couple hours after the incident had happened, Lily had informed the Headmaster that there was a student bound and unconscious in the Potion's supplies room. She had told him what had happened but left out anything involving him threatening Lily. Dumbledore had enough to worry about and didn't want him to waste his time worrying about her when he should be worrying about the protection and safety of the other muggleborns in the school. She could deal with this new Slitherin incentive to "treat her as she should be treated" as Michaels had said. It didn't matter anymore anyway, she was fine and Dumbledore would deal with Michaels' punishment as he thought appropriate.

The next couple of days were quite uneventful compared to the past weekend. Classes were hard and meals were delicious as per usual, Lily thought the days were going by slowly due to boredom. James and her were acting normally and if anyone suspected a change in their relationship they had decided to have kept it to themselves. They were more comfortable in each others presence now. After a weekend where both had shared distress, rescue and healing it is hard not to grow closer with that person. Lily had thought a lot about the conversation James and her had shared in the common room after her run in with Michaels, she didn't know if she should feel touched or worried that he had thought about her future in the war so much. He had obviously thought about how being a muggleborn would affect her life once they had graduated. But the more she thought about it the more helpless she felt, so she immersed herself completely in her studies and her duties as Head girl. But by the time it came to wednesday, she had completely finished her homework for the next 2 weeks and organized the next 5 Prefect meetings. So she went to class and tried her best to listen to lectures that she already knew, or perform spells that she had perfected a while ago.

She noticed that day in their transfigurations class that her and James were the only two that had successfully completed the day's assignment. Usually, along with her of course, most Ravenclaws succeeded as well as most the Marauders (minus Peter) and the odd Gryffindor. But today's task of transfiguring a chair to capture an opponent seemed to trouble many.

"Nicely done Miss Evans! Oh, and you as well Mr. Potter! Simply wonderful, and I dare say, seemingly perfect. 20 points for Gryffindor!" cried Professor McGonagall proudly as she watched James and Lily's chair spring to life and seize the suit of armor that had been set up at the front of the class for today's lesson. She continued on through the class to assist the frustrated students who were struggling with the task.

"That's what you were practicing last night in the common room wasn't it? Made an awful ruckus when I was trying to sleep." He finished with a smirk and eyed her curiously.

"So what if I had? Not everyone can transfigure everything perfectly first try, Potter. Some of us must actually put in effort to achieve high marks." She replied as she went to retrieve her chair from the front of the class room.

"Hey! I do try! I don't get everything handed to me as much as others like to think." She heard him say as he weaved through the desks following her.

"Then tell me, why is it no one is even close to achieving today's lesson when you stroll in here and wave your pretty little wand and complete the transfigurations almost as perfect as me who had to make several attempts at first. I guess you are just naturally brilliant aren't you James?" She finished sarcastically hoping he will take it as an insult as it was intended and not as a complement.

"Why thank you Evans, that is very flattering, especially coming from yourself. And to answer your question, yes. I have found that I indeed am naturally talented at transfigurations but I require studying in every other class just like anyone else. Whereas you aren't talented in only one class, you are equally brilliant in all of your studies and could probably walk into every class and effortlessly complete any task asked of you with ease. And if I do say so myself, you overwork yourself for no reason and could achieve the same flawless marks that you do now without the excessive studying you do." Looking way pleased with himself he finished his little speech with another smirk.

"Oh...well. What do you know?" She every so lamely replied. She tried very hard not to be flattered by his kind words and she was probably blushing enough to light a candle from the heat of her cheek.

"I know a lot more than you think, Lily. Especially when it comes to you." This time he didn't speak with arrogance or finish with his smug looking smirk, his eyes were intense and his voice was soft but sure.

"Well, that's not exactly reassuring." She walked back to her desk that she shared with Alexis who was almost able to control her chair enough to get it moving.

"That seemed to be quite the passionate conversation you and Potter were having over there." She raised quirked her eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

"It was just Potter being his regular self Lex, that's all. Oh and put more emphasis on the "_car_" of the _Incarcifors._ That might help."

_"Incarcifors" _Suddenly her chair sprang into motion and flew across the class to capture the night. Alexis was extremely bright and once she mastered something she was almost as talented of a witch as Lily. She just needed a bit more time to catch up is all. "Yes! Finally, that was beginning to piss me off. Thanks Lil." She smiled up at Lily with satisfaction.

"Anytime Lex." She smiled back then realized Lex wasn't smiling at her anymore, she followed her eyes and landed on a very pleased looking Sirius who seemed to have just completed the lesson as well. "Do you miss him?" Lily asked quietly, though she was sure she knew the answer.

"I miss who he used to be, who he was when we were together. He's changed though, he's not the same person I remember. I wish we could go back to when we were happy, but he screwed it up and I wont forget what he did. As much as I wish I could. The worst part about the whole thing was that after I found out that he cheated on me, he didn't regret it. He didn't ask for me back or beg to be forgiven, he just moved on with his life without ever looking back. That's what still hurts the most and I hate that I can't do the same." That was the most Lily had ever heard Lex talk about Sirius since the week that it had happened. It was strange seeing her without her strong, enthusiastic exterior she usually wore. She had knows Lex wasn't completely over Sirius but she hadn't realized how much she was still hurting.

They sat in silence for a moment, Alexis staring at Sirius with despair and longing in her eyes, while Lily watched her with sadness in hers. She wished so much she could help her somehow. But nothing Lily could do would changed what had happened, and it looked like Lex wasn't going to forget. Not that she should, Lily reminded herself. There was no forgiving the unfaithful, Lily was a strong believer that once someone cheated there was nothing left they could do to regain her trust.

"Lily, Lex, are you two alright?" Both girls turned their attention to Isabelle who looked at both of them with concern. "You seemed to be deep in thought, care to share what about?"

"We were just discussing the Hogsmead weekend coming up in a couple of weeks." Lily took a peek over at Alexis who was looking at her thankfully.

"Yes, Lil and I just made a bet to see when James would break down and ask her to be his date like usual. I say he wont this time around. He seems to be trying hard not to act like his normal prat like self this year. I, myself, have faith in him. What about you Izz?" Alexis said back to her playful self.

"I don't know about that, I agree that he's trying to change for good but I wouldn't be surprised if he relapsed and asked her the morning of the visit. What did you bet one Lil?"

"I do not gamble especially on the likes of James Potter, thank you very much" Both Alexis and Isabelle smirked at each other.

"Some things never change I guess." As she glanced from Lily to James.

"Hogsmead's coming up soon Prongs, have you thought about how you're going to ask Lily?" Peter practically squirmed with anticipation.

"Nah Pete, not this time. We'll probably just go as friends and see each other around. Maybe we can all meet up with the girls for lunch or something but I'm not personally going to ask her." He said waving his hand as if he was brushing the thought aside.

Peter was shocked, Sirius was looking at James skeptically and Remus looked at him approvingly.

"That is very mature of you Prongs, I think Lily will appreciate the day to spend wit her friends." Remus said while nodding his head.

"I don't buy it." Sirius still looking at James dubiously. "I think you're up to something. I mean come on, you honestly expect me to believe that you have nothing planned? After years of scheming and plotting to get Evans I seriously doubt you would suddenly lose faith."

"I haven't lost faith Pads, I'm just going about it a different way. God only knows why I hadn't realized before that antagonizing and teasing her obviously would get me no where. I'm going become her friend and try to gain her trust, I think she will respond much more to that."

"I couldn't agree more James, well done." Said Remus reassuringly. Sirius still looked put out.

"Ja...um Potter" Lily had appeared from behind James and Sirius shared a look with Remus who also had his eyebrows raised surprisingly. "Professor McGonagall just informed me that the Headmaster wishes to speak to us in his office. Please Excuse us boys." She finished while grabbing James' arm and leading him out of the classroom.

"Ow! Lil can you ease up on the death grip a little? What are you trying to do, claw my arm off?" He reclaimed his arm and looked at the damage.

"Did you tell Dumbledore about what Michaels said to me?" Lily said harshly remembering the pitying look McGonagall had given her when she had passed on the message.

"Um yes?" She scowled and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Well? That's it? Why would you do that? Dumbledore has enough to take care of and now he has to worry about Slitherins trying to catch and hurt my feelings! Really Potter, use your fricken head." She started walking towards the stairs that would take them up to the Headmaster's tower.

James followed on her heals. "You think that what happened the other night was nothing to worry about? Christ Lily, he wasn't trying to just hurt your feelings! He would have fucking physically and probably sexually assaulted you as well! I had to let Dumbledore know! Lily look at me," James had grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. He looked deep into her eyes to make sure she knew he meant every word. "you're worth worrying about."

The meeting had surprisingly not been about the events of the weekend, but about a new task Dumbledore had asked of both Lily and James. Together, they were to scour the entire castle for a sword, the sword of Gryffindor to be more exact. It had been lost for nearly a century, Dumbledore had said. He hadn't told either of them why they were searching for this sword though, but told them that it needed to be found. Time wasn't an issue however, they had the whole year to search for it and had access to every room, corridor or dungeon. The only thing he had asked, was to keep it a secret and tell absolutely no one.

They were on their way back to retrieve their books and bags in the transfiguration classroom. Once they had dropped them off in their common room they descended the stairs to join their friends in the great hall for dinner. Lily's friends were talking animatedly to the Marauders about the muggle invention called the toaster. They thought it was the most hilarious thing they had ever heard.

Lily sat down in between a hysterical Alexis and a chuckling Remus. Isabelle was on the other side of Remus with her head in her hands, shaking with laughter, Sirius was banging his fist upon the table with mirth, Peter sat beside him wiping tears from his eyes and Mayella set on the other side of Sirius with a look of confusion on her face. Although she had always known she was a witch, Greece was quite a muggle country and she was very familiar with muggle living, and by the looks of it, did not find anything about the toaster amusing.

'Do I even want to know?" Lily asked Mayella who shook her head hopelessly.

"Well now I feel left out. What the hell is a toaster?" James, who had slipped in next to Mayella asked, but this only brought on new rounds of laughter. Once James had given up, he resigned to filling his plate with various foods. Lily swore he didn't even look at what he was eating he just literally stuffed his face whatever he was shoveling with his fork.

"James can you at least try not to eat like a pig for the sake of those around you?" Lily asked with a disgusted face as she ate at a normal pace.

"A bohs go'a eaah foh yoh ihfomatioh." He attempted to reply with a chicken leg currently occupying his mouth.

"So, what were you two lovebirds doing in Dumbledore's office for that long? Or did Evans make the whole thing up and steal him away to trap him in a broom closet?" Sirius piped into the conversation causing Lily to blush.

"Hah! Maybe in Prong's dreams." James threw the chicken bone at Peter and hit him in the eye.

"Actually Sirius, Professor Dumbledore was just informing us of our new patrol times for November." She replied to Sirius and he winked back at her causing her to scowl at him then turn her attention back to her food frustratingly.

"Oh Remus! I had been meaning to tell you! Do you know Lydia Edwards from Ravenclaw? I think she's in her sixth year. Well anyways, I reckon she fancies you. Just thought you should know before the upcoming Hogsmead weekend. You know, maybe keep it in the back of your mind." Alexis finished teasingly causing Remus to blush adorably. Remus had always been the sweetheart of the Marauder crew. James and Sirius both shared the positions of heart throb and prank planner, and Peter was their devoted support.

"Oh, well.. maybe, I don't know.. I guess I could... maybe ask her to go with me?" Remus stuttered nervously as if he was asking Lex's permission.

"Don't ask me, ask her! I think she's just the sweetest thing. I approve Rem, you are free to do as you wish." She winked at him and he got all flustered. Everyone suppressed laughter at seeing their usually composed friend so unsure how to act.

James caught Lily's eye and motioned his head towards the entrance. Then he stood up and announced to their friends that he had to go plan for tomorrows early morning quidditch practice.

After a few minutes, Lily too excused herself from the table and exited the great hall. As soon as she had rounded the corner to make her way up the stairs she felt strong arms grab her and pull her into a nook in the wall.

"What the ommphh-" A hand had clasped over her mouth and she began to panic thinking about what had happened in the supplies room a couple of nights ago. She sent a hard kicking hex to her capturer's shin and used the momentary distraction to free herself from their grasp. She spun around and jabbed her wand to their throat to see James reaching down to clutch his leg and hop up and down on one foot.

She pulled away but felt rage serge though her. "What the fuck James! What was that all about? You should have known I would panic considering the event in the dungeons! I've been ready for another attack ever since, you lunatic! I could have seriously hurt you! Why would you go and pull something like that anyways? What's going on?"

By then he had stopped hopping and was just rubbing it soothingly with his hand. "I was just waiting for you to join me out here and decided I would test to see if were prepared if something were to happen. Turns out you are so..." he trailed off awkwardly.

"Well obviously! Seriously James you think I would walk around feeling completely safe after being tricked into a closet? You are literally the most idiotic person I've ever met." She huffed and walked away heatedly.

'Come on now Lil, I was just trying to see what would happen, it's not like I was actually going to hurt you. You know I would never do that!" He followed her desperately.

"That's not the point you blockheaded twit!"

"Okay, okay, okay." he ran in front of her on the stairs blocking her way. "Listen Lily I'm sorry, I really am. I don't know what I was thinking, it was stupid and wrong of me to do to you. I promise I'll never test you again because I should have known you would have been fully capable of handling anything on your own. Please, can we just forget this ever happened? I actually wanted to talk to you about something." He looked at her pleadingly.

"Ughh fine! But you owe me one Potter. Now get out of my way." He moved to the side and she passed by.

Once they had made it up to the common room, Lily plopped down on the couch closest to the fire and signed. "Okay James, what did you want to talk to me about that was so important you had to cut my dinner short and attack me?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about what Dumbledore had asked of us. How are we going to go about doing this? Will we split up and take different sections of the school or should we do it floor by floor?" He grabbed some parchment and a quill and sat down in the couch opposite Lily.

"I think we should stick together, I mean with all the attacks going on I think it would be best. I would probably be fine by myself but if someone saw me with you they probably wouldn't follow through. It's better if we could avoid all that as much as possible."

James was finding it hard not to look too pleased with himself at the thought of Lily feeling protected around him. She hadn't really said it like that but he couldn't help but think that was what she had been implying. "Um, yes I completely agree.

"How does Dumbledore even know that it is in the castle? If he couldn't find it himself why would we have a better chance of finding it? Is there some hidden message that we aren't getting? It's not as if we can go out of the grounds to look for the sword in Hogsmead or London because that would be against school rules. Well I guess we might as well search the castle first before we worry about any of that."

"So I stay we start at the dungeons, I would think to hide something down there. Not that many people go down there except for the Slitherins and students for Potions class. When do you want to start?"

"Well, there's no time like the present. Shall we?"

**That's it for chapter four! it's a continuing chapter but it was getting kind of long so I thought I would split it into two parts.**

**Not much drama happened in this chapter but it can't be utter chaos in every scene for Lily and James. I have to give them some down time. **

**PLEASE REVIEW IT MAKES MY DAY SO MUCH BETTER!**

**thanks everyone!**

**xoxo **

**Lyla**


	5. Chapter 5

**HI everyone!, hope you enjoy chapter # 5**

**I own the plot, NOTHING ELSE!**

"Oh well excuse me for thinking we were going to the dungeons like we planned. I guess I wasn't expecting the surprise run to the library." Sarcasm oozed from his mouth as he barely managed to keep up with the very determined Head Girl. For a petite young woman she was very quick.

"Do you really expect us to waltz down there without doing any research in advanced? We must know what its features are, whether it has any magical properties, where it was last seen... James where are you going?" Lily stopped and watched as James took a left after a particular staircase when Lily was certain it was right towards the corridor that lead to the library. It's not as it she hadn't been there enough times to memorize its location. "You know, I'm really not surprised you don't know where it is. You probably haven't set a toe in there since our tour in first year"

"You wont be looking so smug once I show you. Now, if you would follow me miss Evans." He mock bowed and swept his hands dramatically in the direction he had been moving.

"And how do I know you wont trick me into some vast prank where my robes are charmed to yell out random immature sayings throughout the next three days. And you and your friends laugh at me wherever I go and nothing I can do to stop it works and I'm humiliated for weeks!"

"Come now, Evans. Would I ever repeat the same prank twice?" He smiled at her dashingly and she scowled at him as per usual. But she was actually curious this time so she grudgingly followed him down the hall.

James came to a stop in front of a portrait of an ancient runes discoverer in the charms corridor and Lily stopped and grinned knowingly. "Got lost, did you now Potter? You know, if you had just asked I would have gladly lead you back to the Library correctly, no need to wander down random halls just to make a point. Now, come on, the library is all the way in the other wing, if we don't hurry up we wont have enough time to actually search for sword." She finished while starting to make her way back to the grand staircase until a hand grabbed the back of her cloak and pulled her back in the direction they were originally heading.

"A little faith in me wouldn't hurt, Lily, now hurry up you've waisted enough time with your pointless banter." They stopped in front of the same portrait as before. James reached passed her and grabbed the right side of the frame. For a moment she thought he had been trying to tear the painting down and she was about ready to have a fit. The artwork in the castle was incredible and to alter it in any way was criminal. But to her surprise, the portrait swung open as if it was on hinges to revealed a narrow passage leading deep into the castle walls.

"How did you... what did you... I don't-" Lily stuttered as she stared dumbfoundedly down the tunnel.

'Would you look at that, the great and honorable Lily Evans seems to have lost her tongue. Tonight seems to be a night for first doesn't it now? Alright watch your head there it's a bit lower than you think." James absentmindedly reached up the top of his head as he said this thinking about the first time the Marauders and himself had found the passage.

"Were going down there? But what if it's a dead end, or a trap? I think I would rather take the normal route now, so if you would excuse me." Lily reached up to James' shoulder and gave it a little push so she could escape the entrance of the passage.

"Is it possible that the great and honorable Lily Evans is scared?" She stopped short.

"Excuse me?" She turned around to face him with her eyes glowing dangerously.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are too scared to go down a little old passage." He crossed his arms and looked pleased with himself.

"Fine then, have it your way. I'll go down the passage, it's not like it's a big deal." She pushed passed him another time and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

She was engulfed by blackness, the only thing comforting her was the feel of the hard floor under her shoes and the sound of James her.

"Lumos" She muttered and light appeared instantly from the tip of her wand. She knew it had been a mistake as soon as she saw the walls running endlessly only a few inches from each of her shoulders. She hadn't experienced this feeling since she was a little girl when she been skating on a frozen lake with Petunia and Lily had fallen through the ice. Every time she had tried to resurface she found nothing but a solid barrier keeping her trapped underwater.

The walls were slowly closing in around her and the chance of escape seemed to slip away instantly. Her breath stopped short in her throat and her lungs felt as if they were closing in on themselves. She felt something pressing on her shoulder and she collapsed under the weight. She had been concentrating on the ball of light a few inches form her face when another appeared under her knees. She felt like she was being lifted and carried with the tide now through the passage with the pressure of the deep water pressing against every inch of skin. She heard noises coming from the surface, trying to pull her out. Didn't they understand that the barrier was too thick to break? Her lungs were bursting now and they felt like they were logging themselves deep into her throat, she needed to find a way to escape! Where was Petunia to grab her and pull her out? No one could help her this time.

Light burst suddenly into her eyes and she let out the breath of air she hadn't realized the had been holding. She was placed down so she was sitting against the wall.

"Lily! Lily please answer me! Talk to me! What happened? Oh god, Lily please look at me." He lifted her chin up to force her eyes onto his. She was panting heavily and the color was starting to return back to her cheeks.

"James" Lily managed to choke out. She started to maker her way to her feet and would swat away any attempts James was making to try and help her.

"Lily, I'm going to take you to the hospital wing whether you like it or.. where do you think you're you going?" James watched as she slowly started to walk from him.

"I'm going to the library like we had planned" She said with diffuculty as she was still catching her breath, she gave him a stern stare as he ran to catch up with her.

"What the fuck just happened in there? One minute we were walking then the next you stopped and collapsed to the floor! When I tried to help you back up you started flailing uncontrollably and I'm almost positive you stopped breathing all together. So I picked you up and ran the rest of the way."

"Thank you that was very kind of you James."

"I'm not asking for praise Lily, I'm asking for an explanation!" He started to raise his voice then. Why did this girl always insist on leaving him with no answers?

She stopped walking and turn to face him. "I'm claustrophobic, James. When I was six years old I fell through some ice and couldn't find a way out until my sister Petunia saved me and brought me back up to the surface. I thought I had gotten over my childesh fear since then but as it so turns out, being in a constrictive area stills makes me have a panic attack." She finished with a little laugh then continued on through the halls.

James was still rooted to the floor, staring at her as she kept walking. "So that's it? Lily, you just had a complete anxiety breakdown and you're acting like there's nothing to it! I'm not letting you go to the library, you're going back up to bed and I'm... I will...um, bring you soup! Yes that's what we'll do."

"What's the point of me staying up in bed resting when I am perfectly fine? And besides we have plans and I've wasted enough time already, so we're going. End of discussion." She started walking when she realized the library doors were right in front of her. She looked around confused until she met James' unsure stare. He probably thought I was completely bonkers, she thought amusedly. "Did that passage take us straight to the library? That's brilliant James! I cannot believe you haven't shown me this before!" She was extra enthusiastic about her excitement because she thought it was sweet that James was so worried about her ( even though she wished he would let it go) and he wasn't gloating in her face that he had been right and she was been acting like a total git before. But that seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Oh look who was right all along! And I could be right about you going back to the common room and resting. Oh and maybe I haven't shown you before because it is only recent that you would willingly get into a small passage way with me. If I had tried last year you would have hexed me into oblivion."

"James I'm not going to rest, it's sweet that you want to help but the only way you could possibly help more than you already have would be to help keep my mind preoccupied and remind me never to get in a passage with you again. She opened the library door for him with a friendly smile. He walked through glaring at her and she huffed at the thought of him being angry at her for such a thing.

Lily first had searched the Historic Artifacts section and then a couple of books about the founders, but they had only found some useful information when they resorted back to "History of magic". It had been James' idea to look in the old book because Lily had been certain that if anything about Gryffindor's sword was in it's pages, she would know about it. But as it turned out, there was a small paragraph about the great founder's sword and it's properties. They learned that there were rubies on its hilt and and the original owner's name was engraved on the blade, however the most interesting of them all was that it would appear wherever and whenever a true and worthy Gryffindor needed the most. It was rare that the sword would show up for anyone, and James thought you needed to be in peril to be lucky enough to receive it.

It was almost eleven o'clock when James and Lily finally set off to the dungeons to start the search. They had completely scoured the potions classroom, the supplies closet and most of the corridors. They were in the last corridor that lead to the Slitherin common room when they heard mumbling voices from around the corner. James reached for his invisibility cloak when he remembered he had forgotten it in the common room. Cursing himself silently he quickly grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her into a nearby nook in the castle wall.

"Blaine told us about your little slip up a couple of nights ago, Michaels." James flinched and balled his hands into fists at the sound of the name. "You really screwed things over for yourself this time. All we told you to do was capture her and bring her back here, luckily you didn't completely give too much away so the Dark Lord probably wont punish you too hard. Personally though, I hope he does." James felt Lily shiver beside him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"You won't tell him will you? I thought I could take her on my own. She's a little mudblood girl, I was sure I could taker her on my own!" Michaels' voice rose an octave as if he was begging to be forgiven by the other student who obviously held a higher rank.

"And that is where you made your first mistake! She's top of the year in marks and the Head Girl, no one gets a position like that if they are not at all magically talented. You cornered her with absolutely no plan and attacked her and now she's bound to be suspicious of us! And everyone knows she had Dumbledore wrapped around her filthy little finger. We only have one more chance and you are not allowed to partake in our orders from the Dark Lord any longer. Lestrange, Nott, Avery and I are going to have to complete the task on our own now. The Dark Lord will hear about this Michaels no use in denying it. Now get out of my sight you no longer reserve the right to speak to me."

"Yes, yes of course I completely understand." Michaels said the Slitherin password and the other one followed him into what James called the snake pit.

"James we have to go talk to Dumbledore about this, let him know that they're planning something. Come on, we'll finish searching the rest of the dungeons tomorrow." She took a hesitant step out of the nook and checked both ways to make sure there were no more lingering Slitherin, then they both made their way up to the Headmaster's office.

"Miss Evans, Mr Potter! To what do I owe the great pleasure of your company?" Dumbledore greeted them as James allowed Lily to sit in the chair opposite the Headmaster's desk.

" Well actually Professor, it's a couple of students from Slitherin we would like to discuss with you." Lily started off the discussion and James moved behind her and rested his hands on the back of the chair. The Professor's eyes twinkled as he noticed how their relationship had changed that year so far. "James and I were down in the dungeons searching for the sword and we overheard Michaels and someone else talking about an order Voldemort had asked them to carry out." James had been shocked to hear Lily say Voldemorts name so fearlessly. "It seemed to have something to do with what happened between Michaels and I, and I.. well I think their orders are to kill me, Sir." James wanted so badly to lock her up in the Head girl's room so no one could harm her, or at least be able to comfort her, he thought. As long as he knew where she was at all times, or maybe even kept her in sight...no, James! She's said it before, she's not yours to protect...publicly.

"Miss Evans, that is a very serious accusation but I do not believe you would make it without being quite sure of yourself and I trust your judgment. Do you have any proof of this theory, my dear?" James did not like that Dumbledore was acting so calmly, one of his students was being targeted by a murdering madman and he was asking Lily questions like he had been simply asking her to pass the fucking salt!

"Well, Sir, the boy we couldn't see, who I think to be Mulciber, was lecturing Michaels about his failure to capture me to bring back to his peers where they could complete their Master's orders. The boy had told Michaels that he would no longer be involved in the task due to his recent failure and Nott, Avery and Lestrange would only have one more chance to finish the task, whatever the task may be."

"I see, this is very serious, Miss Evans I hope you understand." The Headmaster played with the tip of his long beard with his fingertips for a moment. "James, may you please give myself and Miss Evans a moment to discuss these recent matters personally?" He asked looking at James over his half moon spectacles. James did not appreciate the dismissal, but could not deny the Headmaster.

"Of course Professor. Lily, I'll wait for you outside." He turned on his heels and walked to the door.

"James that's really not necessary, I can find my way-" James heard Lily protest over his shoulder.

"I'll be waiting outside." He added sternly and finally.

James paced the corridor nervously for what seemed like hours as he waited for Lily to descend from the office. He didn't know whether his anxiousness was caused more by the thought of Lily being in grave danger or by the gargoyles who were perched right out front the stairs that lead upward into the Headmaster's quarters. He felt like they could read his mind and were watching him walk back and forth in front of them.

When Lily finally joined him out in the hall he bombarded her with questions but she wouldn't let slip anything her and Dumbledore had spoken about. James had been slightly hurt that Lily didn't trust him enough but she assured him it wasn't that she didn't trust him and that the Headmaster had simply asked her not to share what had been said with anyone.

"I'm not exactly feeling to kindly towards our great Headmaster at the moment. What does he think he's playing at, keeping things I'm involved in from me." James whined as they ascended the stairs back to their common room.

"James, I promise you will figure it out sooner or later, and you can't blame Dumbledore for this and I think you already know that. And you also know that everything he does, he does for the better, and personally, I agree with him on this one. I think it's too big a secret for little Jamie." He knew she was trying to change the conversation to something lighter and though he saw right through her attempt, he went along anyways. He contorted his face into a mock shocked face and put his hand to his chest in horror.

"I'm hurt, Evans! You honestly believe I can't keep a secret?"They were right outside the portrait of Gryffindor now and neither of them spoke the password or made any move to enter, almost as if once they entered, things wouldn't be the same anymore. They both wanted everyday to be like this, filled with laughter and friends, not with school or the war.

"I know it Potter, it took you about five minutes from the moment you met me to tell me you were madly in love with me." She smirked a the memory. He was so happy they were friends now, last year she would have yelled or hexed at him at the thought of him telling her he loved her, the fact they she brought it up in conversation was a huge step.

"I didn't want that to be a secret though, I wanted the whole world to know the prettiest girl in the school would one day be my wife." He noticed her smile falter a little but then landed on a kind smile.

"We'll see about that, won't we Potter?" She grinned playfully then muttered the password. She stepped by him and ruffled his hair then disappeared into the common room.

He heard the portrait swing shut behind him but he was still rooted to the floor. He had been sure she would have been angry or at least a little pissed that he had said she would one day be his wife. But she had just laughed. What did that mean? Did she think it was a joke? Did she just think he had stopped thinking that after third year when he retired from asking her to marry her and began his daily ritual of asking her out? He wanted to let her know that he still thought- no, knew that she would one day be his wife, but thought against it. He would take her friendship for the time being. Getting his hair ruffled was a thousand times better than getting screamed at.

**Thanks for reading everyone! I really appreciate it!**

**Please review it makes me so ridiculously happy and maybe if you could give some feedback about what you want to see continue and what you want to see change? that would be GREAT!**

**thanks again everyone!**

**xoxo**

**Lyla**


	6. Chapter 6

**HI everyone!, hope you enjoy chapter #6**

**I own the plot, NOTHING ELSE!**

Lily was walking down the grand staircase on her way great hall for breakfast. It was earlier than when she usually woke and there were only a few students sitting at their house tables. Usually James woke up earlier than her and lately he has been waiting for her to be ready so they could walk down together, that's the reason she was practically sleep walking into the great hall. Dumbledore had warned her what to expect and if it happened when he had suspected, she didn't want James to be around. She would fill him in once it had already happened. Merlin, he was going to be mad.

She sat down at the Gryffindor house table and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice to sip on nervously. She wasn't nervous, she corrected herself, only anxious. If Dumbledore's suspicions turned out to be correct, this would be a whole new experience for her and she would have to play her part carefully. She couldn't be too obvious about it either, they needed to think she was oblivious, but still keep her head. A lot of people were counting on her, even if they didn't know it. Dumbledore had thought that Lily was Voldemort's number one target, being well liked by others, smart, powerful, and most of all muggleborn, but every other muggleborn in the school was at risk as well. She had never been counted upon by so many, that's why she needed to do this right and she only had one chance.

"Hey Evans, sorry you look kind of preoccupied but I was wondering if I could ask you a question. Um, can I sit here?" David Thinier from Slitherin was looking down at her rather nervously. Bingo, Lily thought. It's game time.

"Um, sure Thinier. What is it you wanted to ask?" She needed to sound suspicious but not give away what she knows. She needed to be friendly but not become friends. She needed him to think she was okay with him being a Slitherin but still be proud that she was a Gryffindor. This would require her utmost attention.

"Thanks" He sat down beside her and looked down at his hands awkwardly. "Well actually I was just wondering if I could ask you a couple questions about your friend Alexis. I mean, I get it if you don't want to, I would completely understand." He was still looking down at his hands and he was fidgeting a lot. This was unexpected, Lily thought, he actually sounded innocent. Maybe he wasn't involved in Voldemort's plan at all, he hadn't been mentioned in the conversation with Michaels outside the Slithering common room.

"Yeah sure, Thinier, what do you want to know?"

"Well, I've noticed you and her are very close and I'm kind of interested in asking her to the next Hogsmead day, do you think she would be at all interested?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes, almost as if he was begging her to say she was interested.

"Well, I'm not sure. Alexis has been with a wide variety of boys but she usually gets to know them a little before. Have you two ever even spoken before?"

"No, I've wanted to but... I don't know. She's always around so many people and whenever I see her alone I always get too scared and back out. I know what you're thinking, it's pathetic, I know." He looked back down at his hands and if Lily hadn't known he was a Slitherin and could possibly be trying to kill her and her culture, she would hug him. But she knew better, this could all be a trap, it wouldn't be the first time she was lured into one by a Slitherin. Even though he seemed harmless enough, she still had her guard up.

She stifled a little giggle. If anyone was to scare a Slitherin, it would be Alexis Johnson. "It's perfectly normal, Thinier, don't feel bad. She can be rather intimidating on the outside... well, and on the inside but she is really the sweetest girl you will ever meet. I could help you get to know her if you want, maybe give you a few pointers." Alexis was a pureblood so Lily had no problem getting her slightly involved. She also knew that if needed, Lex could hex Thinier into next century.

"Wow, thanks Lily, that would be great. I wouldn't even know where to begin in a conversation with her. She seems a little complex." You have no idea, Lily mused to herself.

"Well, Lex is many different things, serious is not one of them if she can help it. If I were you, I would make her laugh. She's always happiest when she's laughing and enjoys people's company who have a good sense of humor. Maybe you cou-" She was cut off by the sound of her name being shouted from across the hall. Lily and David both turned in their seat to see who was calling them both. It was Avery sitting with Nott, Lestrange and Mulciber.

"Thinier, Evans! How about you sit with us for breakfast this morning. No hard feelings here, right?" Avery flashed his cunning smile and motioned to his friends and himself. Lily looked over to Thinier who was worriedly looking at Lily.

"You know Lily, you really don't have to. I can just leave if you want." He stood up from the table and Lily stood up too.

"No it's fine, I'll come. Change is a good thing right?" Lily was mostly saying this to herself. Even though she was perfectly aware that she was capable of holding her own against the group of boys and that there were teachers in the same room, she couldn't get rid of the feeling in her gut that she was walking into danger. Maybe that's just natural after being a proud Gryffindor for six years and suddenly finding herself walking over to the company of her rivals.

"Hey there Evans, why don't you sit down?" Avery greeted her as she got made her way closer.

"Thanks" She sat next to Mulciber and Thinier sat on her other side. Nott was looking at her rather uncomfortably and would look at her with a disgusted look on his face. He was obviously not involved in her invite. Lestrange looked perfectly normal, Mulciber was looking at her intensly, Thinier was staring at his hands in his lap again and Avery looked simply delighted by her presence.

"So Evans, are you ready for the DADA practical test next week? Lestrange and I were just talking about what he would most likely put on the test. You have any idea?" Avery started the conversation for the group while filling his plate with various breakfast foods.

'Well I had spoken to Professor Larriver about it after our last class and he said that we would be covering everything since the start of the year and he will be expecting nonverbal casting." Lily said simply trying to sound a nonchalant as possibly despite the situation she was in. It was weird to think that even though they sat together having a perfectly civil conversation, they were most likely all thinking about killing her. It couldn't help the shiver that crept down her spine at the thought.

"Nonverbal? Hm, I'm going to have to do a bit of reviewing before then. Care to join me, Thiner?"

Thinier looked up from his lap seeming stunned. "Oh, right. Yeah, sounds good."

"Excellent. You know Evans, I don't think your usual company is very impressed with you location change this morning." He nodded his head towards the Gryffindor table behind her. She swiveled in her seat to glance back, she noticed Isabelle, Remus and James were there already. James' furious expression caught her eye. He stood up from his seat and without breaking their eye contact he strode out of the hall. "Well it seems we have upset Potter. It's a shame he's a Gryffindor, brilliant quidditch player he is. I'm sure he would make an alright Slitherin as well, quite the sly and cunning personality on that one." She was surprised to feel defensive of James. She wanted to speek up and defend him and let them know how he was way too good for Slitherin, but remember that she needed to stay calm in front of them.

"You're right he was quite the troublemaker, merlin, he still is. But actually Potter and I have to meet before classes today to discuss Prefect meetings. Thank you for breakfast, it was nice talking to you boys. I'll see you around in class." She stood up from the bench and strode through the hall nodding at Remus and giving a reassuring smile to a worried looking Isabelle.

Once outside the great hall she spotted James starting up the stairs, she ran to him starting to dread that she hadn't told James what to expect. She had known he would act this way and that's why she hadn't told him. He wouldn't want her hanging around Slitherins who were plotting to kill her even if Dumbledore had asked her.

"James! James, please wait up," She said a little bit out of breath after taking most of the stairs two at a time. "James, I told you you would figure it out sooner than later!"

"What the fuck were you thinking, Lily? Hanging around those slime balls when they've been asked to kill you! This is what you and Dumbledore were talking about last night wasn't it? I don't care that Dumbledore asked you to get buddy buddy with them, you shouldn't sacrifice your safety for him." He turned around and kept walking up the stairs but she followed him.

"I'm not just doing this for him, James! I'm doing it for all muggleborns! They're not just trying to kill me, I'm just the start. The fucking trophy mudblood!" She saw James stop and clench his fists. "I'm doing this for the safety of all the muggleborns in the school who wouldn't stand a chance against them. I'm the only one who can stop them. James, please listen to me." Her tone was soft now, she already had his attention. They were at Dumbledore's office now, she knew he was thinking of storming in and lecturing the Headmaster for putting Lily in this position.

"It's way too dangerous Lily, you shouldn't have to deal with this. You're only 17 for fuck's sake! You're too young to have the weight of every muggleborn in the school on your shoulder's. It shouldn't be up to you to deal with this by yourself. It's not fair." He said looking down at her. His hair had grown a little longer than usual, like it used to be before he cut it short in the summer. A stray piece was caught at the tip of his glasses and Lily desperately wanted to gently brush it aside. However she brought her thoughts back to the conversation she was having presently.

"I know it's not fair James. It's not fair that Voldemort is quickly gaining control and getting more dangerous everyday, it's not fair that because of my heritage I'm being outcasted from my own school, and it's not fair that there were students who will never finish school because their worried parents pulled them out before they could graduate. A lot of things aren't fair James, But we deal with them or they never go away and things never get better." She hadn't noticed that tears were starting to fall freely down her cheeks.

"You're right. I hate that you're always right. I also hate that it has to be you to make things better, you still shouldn't have to deal with this."

"There are a lot of things that I shouldn't have had to deal with, but that doesn't make them any less real. I can't just ignore this problem James, there's no other way. If I get close enough to them I can find someway to figure out their plan. When they are planning to attack me and how, then I can be prepared and tell Dumbldore and he can get all the back up we need. Then Dumbldore expels them and hopefully sends them to Askaban. We have the upper hand James, it's not dangerous at all." She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "If I don't do this, they could surprise me whenever. I could be outnumbered and I wouldn't stand a chance. This is the only way, James. Do you see that now?" She watched as James thought about it for a moment. He finally, albeit reluctantly nodded his head in understanding.

"I don't have to agree with it though." He crossed his arms and looked like a stubborn little boy. That's exactly what he is, Lily thought to herself.

It was mid evening and Lily had just returned to the comfort of her common room after dinner when she heard a knock on the door. That's odd, she thought. James knew the password and obviously would just walk in and her friends usually told her when they were on their way up to see her. She stood up from the couch by the fire and walked over to the portrait. She silently used her wand to open it. In walked in Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"Well hello Lily dearest, might you know where we could find Prongs? Bloody git has dissapeared." He walked straight to the couch Lily had previously been resting on before their rather intrusive appearance.

"No, sorry I haven't spoken to him since early this morning."

"Sorry to intrude on you like this Lily. Come on Sirius, there's no use waiting around here we might as well head back to our own common room." He shot Lily an apologetic smile which Lily ignored with a wave of her hand.

"But I would much rather stay here, I think. There's way more room, less annoying kids and a pretty girl all in one room Moony! It's like Paradise." He sighed and layed down fully to shut his eyes. Lily envied him.

"I'm sorry Lily, once he gets relaxed there's no use trying to sway him." Remus sat on a puffy chair and Peter made himself comfortable on the other couch.

"Oh, don't worry about it Remus I can use a distraction from my thoughts for a while. It gets rather cramped in my head sometimes."

"I don't know what you're talking about Evans, my brain is well organized and peaceful." Sirius piped in while staying in his sleeping position with his eyes closed.

"Well, Sirius darling, I would imagine it would be rather easy to tidy a mind when it only houses one thought." Lily replied quickly causing Peter to giggle and Remus to give a little laugh.

"Always liked you sass, Evans. Nothing like a feisty redhead to keep you on your toes. Prongs always knew how to pick them." That caused Lily over think exactly what he had said. Had James mentioned her lately? Did he still have feelings for her? No don't be silly, Lily thought to herself. James hadn't asked her out in nearly half a year, she shouldn't try and flatter herself.

"What's with your little nicknames for each other anyways? Any particular reason?" She had just asked mainly to keep the conversation going but couldn't help but notice Sirius' eyes shoot open and give a glance and Remus. Peter was also looking uncertainly towards Remus.

"I'm afraid it's a Marauder secret you will never know." Sirius went back to his sleeping posture. Damn the Marauders and their stupid secrets, Lily thought. She still had her goal to find every single one of them out before the end of the year. She hadn't forgotten. But noticing how Remus had suddenly gotten extremely fidgety and awkward, Lily let the subject slide for the time being.

"Tell me Lily, what were you doing hanging about with those Slitherins this morning?" Peter asked from across the room, she saw Sirius' eyes open once more and land on herself. Apparently word had got around quickly and Peter had asked the question that everyone wanted to know the answer to. Lovely.

"They asked me over and I had been sitting alone and saw no reason to reject their offer. Simple as that."

"But they're Slitherins, what you want to hang about them for anyway?" She was not enjoying Peters sudden fascination about her life and found it hard giving partially truthful answers without giving anything away.

"Thinier was actually asking me a couple of questions that were harmless enough and his friends joined us. Nothing happened and it wasn't meant to be the big spectacle everyone seems to be making it out to be." She huffed and crossed her arms.

Just then the portrait opened and James walked in carrying a stack of books that looked like they were from the library. Everyone who had previously been in the room stared at him with shocked expressions.

"Oh, can everyone please wipe those expressions off their faces. Yes, I went to the library, and yes, I took out a couple of books to read, and no, I'm not under the imperious curse." Everyone remained silent and continued staring at him. James walked across the room and had a challenge making it through the maze of furniture with the stack of books partially blocking his view. "Actually Lily, I was hoping we could do our um... rounds early tonight. Would that be okay?" James and her didn't have rounds that evening, she thought. Then she realized he must be talking about sword searching.

"Yeah sure, no problem. Would you like to go now?" She stood up from her seat and straightened out her school robes that she just noticed were a bit wrinkled from her rest.

"Yes, now would be an ideal time. Sorry boys but you will have to find someone else's common room to take over." He shooed them out of the room despite Sirius' attempts to stay and closed the door behind them. "Okay, are you about ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think so. Should I even bother asking why we have to go now?"

"I just want to do a little research before I go to sleep tonight, is all." He shrugged his shoulders as they made their way out of the common room.

"A little research? For what, studying? I find that hard to believe." What could he possibly be studying that was so interesting he would go out of his and study on his own for. She didn't even think they had a homework that week that required searching in library books.

"No it's not for school, just doing it by myself."

"So, are you going to tell me what it is you"re studying?" She was rather anxious to hear what it was now, not many things intrigued James Potter to the point of studying.

"It's nothing really, just a little looking around in a couple subjects that fascinate me."

"I'm impressed James, I didn't take you for a personal reader. Well to be honest, I didn't take you for anything else then a total moron before this year so, let's just say you're full of surprises."

"Thank you Evans, I will go ahead and take that as a compliment."

Once they had returned to the common room an hour later empty handed, James had disappeared into his room for the rest of the night. She had tried many times throughout their time searching in the dungeons but he hadn't let anything slip about what he was studying. She was beginning to think he was getting back at her for not letting him in on the Slitherin plan. Git.

She was on her way to her room to consider beginning next months set of homework when something shiny caught her eye. It was the ribbon left in the book she had placed on the desk a while back. She picked it up and ran her fingers along the spine. Nothing beats a new book, she thought.

She brought it to her room and threw it on her bed. She changed into her pajama shorts and tank top, slipped into her slippers and jumped on her bed, happy that she had something to do for the rest of the night.

"Transfigure into the Unknown" Lily could tell it used to be a rather handsome looking book in it's time. The burgundy cover was now a faded pink and some of the gold paint used for the title had chipped off. The book would have never caught her eye if it wasn't for the lilac colored ribbon whose shine was still present. She opened the book to the page that the ribbon had marked. It was the beginning of a chapter called "The Ways and Wills of the Animagus". Lily obviously knew all about animagi, and that the wizards and witches who achieved this level of magic were extremely talented and powerful. Intrigued, Lily read the chapter, quickly becoming fascinated and entranced by it's content. This book was obviously a very high level of magic, which made Lily all the more excited. She had never known how being an animagus was so benificial. She craved to teach herself, to become one, she needed it.

The idea planted it's self in her mind like a disease and spread deep until she was completely obsessed with the thought. She knew it would take time and extreme concentration, but she was determined.

**Thanks again everyone!**

**As you might have noticed, this chapter is all from Lily's perspective. Sorry for those who love James' more (I hate to admit that I enjoy his perspective more, he's just more fun to play around with) but I thought that all of the topics would be better and make more sense from Lily's. More from James in the future though I promise!**

**REVIEW PLEASE! I CHECK EVERY MORNING BEFORE I GO TO CLASS OR GO TO WORK AND IT'S GREAT TO START MY DAY OFF WITH A SMILE FROM MY FAVORITE AND WONDERFUL READERS!**

**Thanks again!**

**xoxo**

**Lyla**


End file.
